Oct. 11. By Dave Vieser. One of the last large vacant parcels of land in Cornelius, the 54-acre Alexander Farm at the corner of West Catawba and Westmoreland, would be filled with townhomes, ”independent living” units and non-residential buildings under a subdivision proposal submitted this month.
This is the first time a formal application outlining possible development of the farm has been submitted. Real estate attorney Susan Irvin, on behalf of the Charlotte based Leon Capital Group, is asking the town for the conditional zoning which would permit such a use of the property which has been vacant since 2015. The property is currently zoned Neighborhood Mixed Use and Neighborhood Residential.
It was originally listed at $18 million—roughly $330,000 an acre—when it was first put on the market nearly two years ago. It was long owned by farmer Eugene Alexander, a graduate of the old Cornelius High School. He died New Years Day 2014 at the age of 96.
On Loopnet.com the property is listed for sale at $12.5 million. Broker Gary Knox could not be reached for comment.
The total proposed non-residential square footage shown on the plan is a maximum of 118,000 square feet, according to Wayne Herron, the town’s planning director. The maximum total number of townhome units would be 170, while the total number of independent living units will not exceed 150.
The farm, which was actively worked until a few years ago, was originally listed at $18 million
The four non-residential buildings would face West Catawba Ave, and Westmoreland Road. Initial indications are for medical, grocery and office use.The townhomes and independent living units would be farther back inside the property.
“For a town that was going to be serious about economic development, that’s a lot of rooftops,” said a concerned Dave Gilroy, a long-time town commissioner.
In any event, no action on the plan is expected soon.
“Although the application has been filed, the applicant is not prepared to move forward with the transportation impact analysis (TIA) or staff review of the plan at this time due to potential changes to the plan,” Herron said. “Therefore, no meetings are scheduled at this time.”
Traffic impact is sure to play a major role in the consideration of developing the property. Added traffic from the development would certainly have an impact on West Catawba, where traffic often slows to a crawl in both directions during rush hour and whenever I-77 is congested.
BS these clowns only give lip service and the already congested traffic in this once quaint little town.
Traffic impact is sure to play a major role in the consideration of developing the property. Added traffic from the development would certainly have an impact on West Catawba, where traffic often slows to a crawl in both directions during rush hour and whenever I-77 is congested.
Posted by Mike | October 11, 2017, 7:57 amAbsolutely ludicrous! AGAIN, the infrastructure to handle yet 640 ++
cars on the roads of Westmoreland and Catawba, AND AT their intersection,
ARE NOT THERE! Please use more common sense.
Posted by Elaine | October 12, 2017, 6:46 amGreat idea for tax revenue but a poor idea at this time until the TOTAL TRAFFIC SITUATION ON WEST CATAWBA FROM THE PENINSULA TO SAM FURR is opened up to 4 lanes and CAN HANDLE THE CURRENT TRAFFIC PLUS 640 MORE CARS. DO NOT GET THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE TOWN GOVERNMENT. HAVE SOME VISION FOR ONCE.
Posted by Robert Snyder | October 12, 2017, 9:43 amThe town refused a plan for 39 “over 55” units by developers of Robbins Park which were a benefit to the surrounding community and the town tax rate, as each unit was approximately $500,000, plus the project didn’t put much strain on the current traffic grid, as well as being approved overwhelmingly by the close neighbors of the proposed project, yet the Cornelius Board turned them down flat, with no consideration of the surrounding homeowners. Now they are considering this debacle? Adding 650 autos? Ridiculous and offensive to the neighborhood!
Posted by Margaret | October 14, 2017, 6:12 pmAs the youngest grandson of Eugene Alexander, this saddens me more than any of you can imagine. Believe me, it’s not what he would have wanted. He farmed that land until the day he died…
Posted by Scott Sloop | November 23, 2017, 1:57 pm